One day Milady and I started out with only the lay of the land and a compass for guide and walked straight toward that unknown region lying to the northwest. A whole chapter could be written of our observations on that single tramp, but I shall keep our notes for a future work on the natural history of this region and add to this already too lengthy account only a few paragraphs. We saw many Lavender Jays[161] restless and numerous, yet curious to know what manner of beings we were. Their alarm note _Keeeow!_ accompanied us for a long distance. Later in the morning we spent some time watching a dense line of parasol ants. They were as gay as Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday, being laden with the purple and white blossoms of some forest tree. The broad wavering banners interspersed with those insects which bore stamens and pistils lance-like, presented a most humanly comical appearance. The tiny creatures are so serious and in such a hurry and yet look so tipsy and political, that one never tires of watching them. [Illustration: FIG. 141. EARLY MORNING IN THE WILDERNESS.] Black clouds and a high wind overtook us and we walked rapidly on, looking for some sort of shelter, he were lucky enough to discover a huge tree, hollow, even to the centre of the buttresses and this we made our headquarters during the storm. From each of four natural windows we watched the jungle life during the rain. A small patch of the black caterpillars was near by on a light-barked tree, all reacting or not according to whether we ejaculated _sst!_ or _buzz!_ As before they were very conspicuous and made no attempt at concealment, although at a distance they resembled a black knot-hole on the trunk. But their rôle was evidently to depend on their threatening actions and their even more reliable stinging hairs. [Illustration: FIG. 142. INDIAN HUNTER BRINGING IN A PECCARY.] On the very floor of our shelter a tragedy was enacted. A small wasp (_Notogonia_ sp.) less than an inch in length with a splash of gilt on thorax and head, dashed upon a brown cricket (_Gryllus argentinus_) more than twice its size, and stung it. Then the wasp left its prey and ran off about eight inches to a round hole which it had excavated in the black wood mould. Back to the cricket again it came, turned it right side up, seized it by the head and began to drag it along. Although I can hardly credit the wasp with the conscious intention, yet its sting had certainly been delivered in exactly the right spot. The whole cricket was paralyzed except for the two front pair of legs. The motor nerves of these were unaffected and they kept up a convulsive pulling and pushing which aided the wasp greatly in its difficult task. Indeed the wasp did little but straddle its prey and steer, while the cricket pushed itself along.